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I wanted to be a musician – Kingsley Moghalu

Kingsley-Moghalu

Kingsley Moghalu

Political economist, lawyer, and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, was the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party in the 2019 elections. He speaks with RAPHAEL EDE on his career, presidential campaign and other issues

What does being a political economist entail?

As a political economist, I am a global and national thought leader, thinking about the linkage between economic production and trade, on one hand, and political processes, institutions and law, on the other. I think about how national income and wealth are distributed, and how Africa, and Nigeria in particular, can move from poverty to prosperity. I offer ideas and policy suggestions on how that can happen. This is my passion. That was one of the reasons I founded a think-tank called the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation, operating out of Nigeria and Washington DC.

Do you think some of the solutions you suggested in your manifesto are workable in Nigeria?

Yes, if the right person comes to power. What is required is for the leader to have the proper world view, have the vision and ability to mobilise people, motivate people to make that vision a reality in our daily lives through governance, manage the economy well and just being a society that knows where it is going.

I was just watching a video of an old acquaintance of mine, Kishore Mahbubani, who use to be the dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and former Singaporean ambassador to the United Nations. Kishore spoke about how Singapore was able to go from being a third world country to a first world and he said it was basically about meritocracy. Meritocracy and pragmatism are very important.

What have you been up to since losing the election to President Muhammadu Buhari?

I have rested but of course one year of strenuous campaigns across over 30 states of the federation (and I was using road, rail, and commercial flights, not private jets) took a physical toll, so I have to rest more. I had to spend time with my family which was pretty much neglected during that period and my wife practically ran the family for the one year that I was campaigning. I have also been reflecting, while remaining active in terms of my voice being consistently out there on the issues of the day. I have continued to comment. I haven’t gone away from the public sphere simply because I lost the election to President Buhari. It is a democracy and there will always be those who win at the ballot and those who lose but, many people across the country say that my campaign created a shift in the narrative in Nigeria’s politics and that is a very powerful strategic victory. For somebody who entered politics just 12 months before the poll, it was a big achievement and I do feel fulfilled for making that contribution.

If you had become the president, do you think we would have overcome some of our challenges as a nation?

I have no question about that in my mind. If I were to be the president of Nigeria, Nigeria will become, within four years, a very different country. It will not be El Dorado; all the problems will not go away but I would have laid irreversible foundations that would take the country to greatness. One of those foundations is constitutional restructuring, to take us back to true federalism on the basis of regions.

What were some of the challenges you faced as a presidential candidate?

There were several challenges. Firstly, the mindset of the people is not yet what it should be. A lot of people believed that the 2019 presidency had to remain in the northern part of the country and could only go to the south as from 2023. Secondly, money. The two big parties, APC and PDP, have a lot of resources, and many of those politicians have access to state funds. As a third force candidate, there was no way one could match them with money. Money politics is destroying Nigeria because the politicians have made the people poor and after making them poor, they use money to corrupt their voting choices. That was a problem; as well as the fact that I was running on the platform of a new party which did not have a strong enough structure across the country.

Considering the literacy level in the country, do you think Nigerians understood your messages?

Yes, they understood them. They understood the need for a generational change in the leadership of the country. They understood the need for performance-based leadership. Yes, they understood their own condition, but they have been intimidated into accepting mediocrity and have been corrupted by money because of their poverty, to sustain mediocrity. That is why since the election, one of the major things I’ve been doing is to convene, To Build a Nation, a non-partisan citizens’ movement that is going to be campaigning for electoral reform and undertaking civic education of ordinary Nigerians across the country.

What innovations would you have brought in as the president?

Several! The first innovation I would have brought in was a recognition of the importance of scientific and technological innovation in creating wealth. That would have been my number one priority. Also, I would have transformed Nigeria’s educational system. I would have created an environment where jobs would be created for the millions of unemployed youths. I gave all these ideas during the campaign. For you to be an effective president in Nigeria today, you have to understand economics. You have to understand the economy and what will make it work for the masses. I believe I would have brought that to the table.

How did you start your political career?

I started my political career essentially in 2018. I came back to Nigeria towards the end of 2017 from the US where I was teaching at Tufts University. In November 2017, I gave a lecture on economic transformation at the Goddy Jidenma Foundation Annual Lecture in Lagos. That lecture basically laid out my economic manifesto even before I formally joined politics. In February 2018, I formally threw my hat in the ring in Abuja at the Yar’Adua Centre. And it was an innovative announcement. I spoke to the country for 30 minutes about my vision and my family was with me.

What do you consider your most trying moment as a presidential candidate?

I don’t think there was any one particular trying moment. The whole election process had its challenges and we met all these challenges along the way. Towards the end, the trying moment was the conduct of the election itself– the disappointment we had from the failures of the INEC. In my polling booth in my village, voting did not start until about 11am and closed by 2pm. That meant people were given only three hours to vote. The sheer logistical failures of the elections were quite frustrating.

Do you have plans to run for president again?

I haven’t made a decision about that. Those things are in the future. What is more important and urgent now is electoral reform, because if we keep having these rigged elections where votes don’t count, then what’s the point?

Some people say that it will be impossible for an Igbo person to become the president of the country anytime soon. What do you make of that?

That was how it was ‘impossible’ for a black American to become the President of the United States, but Barack Obama did it. I don’t believe in impossibility. It exists only in the minds of those that allow impossibility to hold them back. My vision and duty, as a leader, is to explain to the people that they have possibilities and if you followed my campaign, you would see that it broke through in a certain way. That was why many people felt I was the kind of person who could make a good president of Nigeria if given the opportunity.

What do you think are the three most important qualities every leader must possess in order to succeed?

Every leader must have a conviction on the right thing to do. Every leader must have the courage to do the right thing and every leader must have the compassion for his or her fellow citizens, to explain to them why it is important for the society to move in line with the vision of that leader. So, the conviction about what should be done, the courage to do it (they call it political will), and the ability to persuade people that it is the right way to go. To add to that, every leader needs to have an ethical framework; you can’t just do whatever you feel like. You should have a code of ethics that guides you. Some people will call it integrity but that in itself, I want to be very clear, is not enough to be an effective leader. You should have integrity but you must also have capacity.  Without capacity nothing moves.

What are the highlights of your career?

Running for the office of president of Nigeria is an important highlight, that is to say, the transition from being a technocrat to being a political leader. For me, it is an important highlight of my career because it is the level at which I made the most impact on millions of people in this country and around the world. My campaign was admired not just in Nigeria but all over the world. Another very important highlight was my 17-year career in the United Nations. It was my childhood dream to have a career in the UN and I fulfilled it, going from entry level to the highest career rank. I loved it. Then, of course, my appointment as deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. I am proud and privileged to have had that opportunity to work under Lamido Sanusi as the then Central Bank governor. Of course, being appointed ‘Professor of Practice’, which is a very distinguished rank in the academia at a respected institution, is also a highlight. Another professional highlight is the intellectual influence I have had in the world through the books I have written. I have written four books and those books are quoted and cited around the world, used in classrooms and universities globally.

Where was the first place you worked upon graduating from the university?

My first job was at the National Youth Service Corps. Also, I was a legal officer in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, and it was a serious assignment. I worked for eight hours every day on legal issues. I had very good supervisors in the persons of Dr V. O Achimu and Mrs. Efe Omole. Tunde Aribido was also a senior lawyer there. I did a lot of work on contracts and analysing arbitrations for Shell. The third place I worked was Newswatch Magazine. I joined Newswatch in 1988 as its general counsel, and I was also writing on legal affairs for the magazine. That was a very exciting place to be at that time in Nigeria as well. Then, I left the country in 1991 for further studies.

What are some of your fond childhood memories?

I have many sweet childhood memories. I have memories of my father who is now late. He was a very jovial and easygoing character. I have memories of my mother bringing us up. They are pleasant memories now but they were not always so pleasant then because my mother was a disciplinarian. She is still alive. My parents played a strong role in who I am today, in terms of the importance of having character, values and integrity. I also have memories of the civil war. My father used to be in the Foreign Service of Nigeria and we returned to Nigeria from Washington DC (USA) in 1967 when I was four years old. The next three years was the civil war. I remember moving around from Umuahia (Abia Sate) to Nnewi (Anambra State) and so many other places. I remember that I used to wear white shirts sometimes and my mother would scream that I should change it because the bomber jets could see me from the sky. I remember our we used to dive into the underground bunker that was built in our compound during the air raids and we would all be sweating. There were air vents but of course, it was still very hot. I remember the end of the civil war, and my time in primary school.

What were your childhood ambitions?

My first childhood ambition was to become a musician. I adored a musician called Tom Jones. The man was a crooner of the first order and whenever I watched him on television singing, I told myself I would love to be like Tom Jones. But I quickly realised that I had no musical talents, and I moved on to more realistic ambitions. As a child, I loved foreign affairs. Whenever I read the newspapers, I would flip to the world news section first. By the time I was 13, I had made up my mind that I would have an international career in the UN or in the Nigerian Foreign Service.  I later joined the United Nations Secretariat and I had a great career there.

Who are your role models/influences?

Nelson Mandela was a great role model for me. Also, I have much respect for Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, the late Maitama Sule. I admired literary giants such as Professors Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka. These are some of the people I consider as important role models in terms of their achievements, intellect and maybe moral authority.

Was there any particular incident that changed the course of your life?

Yes. When I left the United Nations in 2009, I set up a consultancy firm in Geneva, Switzerland, which I was running with a few associates.  It was called Sogato Strategies S.A. (Societe Anonyme). Sogato came from the names of my children – Sochi, Gazie and Tobenna. I have a daughter called Chidera, and she complained that her name was not part of the ones I used, and I apologised to her and promised her another opportunity would come. Sogato was advising foreign investors coming into Africa, doing market entry survey for them, and advising them on risk management. It was going very well and I was making some money. Then, I was invited to the World Economic Forum in Cape Town in mid-2009  and there, I ran into Sanusi Lamido Sanusi at a dinner and he had just been confirmed a few days earlier as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. It was from a conversation with him there that I became deputy governor of the CBN. He offered me the opportunity on behalf of President Umaru Yar’Adua and said if I agreed he would take my CV to Yar’Adua. He (Sanusi) intended to reform the banking system, so he said if President Yar’Adua appointed me, he (Sanusi) wanted a very capable hand to lead the implementation of those reforms. He felt that I had the right kind of international standing, exposure and competence, especially with my experience in risk management and corporate governance, to be able to lead the financial system stability reforms of the Central Bank. So, a chance meeting at the WEF in Cape Town changed my life because I was not planning to come back to Nigeria at that time. If I hadn’t been deputy governor of CBN, I may not have had the kind of direct and superior experience in leadership of an independent and very important public institution in Nigeria. That leadership in economic management gave me such a strong background to be able to contest the presidency of Nigeria as I did in 2019 on a competence- based candidacy. That incident and the experience that followed it was transformative.

What do you consider your breakthrough moment?

There were several breakthrough moments in my life. Working for Newswatch was a breakthrough because it exposed me in a very broad manner. Newswatch, at that time, was the crème de la crème of the news media. It was the leading news magazine in Nigeria in the 1980s and I met so many important personalities who were friends of the publishers, Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed. Also, I developed my writing skills while I was with Newswatch. Another breakthrough moment was my attending The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University where I later become a professor, but that is where I had my Master in International Affairs. I later took my PhD at the London School of Economics.

Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, our former foreign minister who is also an alumnus of The Fletcher School, played a key role in my getting the Joan Gillespie Fellowship award that covered my tuition there. The prestige of the institution and the global network it gave me was a breakthrough experience. Being a student at the school gave me access to the top levels of world affairs and that is how I was able to join the UN Secretariat in 1992. Entering the UN was also a big breakthrough because it was what I dreamt of as a teenager.

Are any of your children following your footsteps as a lawyer or politician?

Firstly, I don’t want to be described only as a politician because I am also a core professional. Being a political leader is another dimension that I have entered into and I am quite grateful for that opportunity. One of my kids is studying Medicine, another one is studying Chinese and Spanish, another is studying Economics, and the last one is also going in for Economics, but intends to become a lawyer after her first degree in Economics.

How do you balance your work and family life?

I give a lot of priority to my family obligations. When I was at the CBN, I did not have a very strong social life and that was because the job kept me so busy. My average working day was about 12-14 hours daily, so whenever I had a little time, I wanted to spend it with my wife and children. Since I left the CBN, I have had a lot more time for my family.  As a professor, one’s time is flexible, so I could now go to my children’s schools and attend parents’ day events. Even when I was at CBN, I would leave the office to attend any important event my little daughter was having at her school. I would just plan my schedule so that the work did not suffer. Spending time with one’s family is an opportunity to mould them; to give them the benefit of your own experience and to guide them in a world that is quite different from the one in which I grew up in. We didn’t have the pervasive influence of technology the way we have it today and that has implications for children, and young people growing up. Technology has many good uses but it can also affect people in a negative way. If people are always on their mobile phones, you will find that they may lose social skills. So, I discuss these kinds of things with my kids.

How did you meet your wife?

I first met my wife, Maryanne, on the phone, seemingly by coincidence. I was a political affairs officer at the United Nations Secretariat Headquarters in New York then, so one day, I was in my office preparing for a meeting of the UN Security Council when a friend and schoolmate called me from Nigeria and said, “I have seen the person you will marry”. She said she had a colleague and friend that whenever she looked at her, something always told her she would be my wife. She later asked me to speak with her and she (my wife) introduced herself and it turned out we were family friends. We just chatted generally about life and I enjoyed the conversation with her very much. At that time, I was a young, lonely bachelor in New York. About a week later, I thought to myself, “I quite liked talking with this girl. I think I want to talk to her again”. So, I called her and she was a bit surprised. That was how we became friends and chatted on the phone frequently. We just realised that we liked each other and decided to meet during the summer holiday of 1994 in London. So, we met in London and spent a lot of time together. By the end of that holiday, we got engaged. I came home in December 1994 and we got married.

Meanwhile, I had prayed a lot about marriage because I didn’t want to get marriage wrong. What destroys a lot of men is wrong decisions about marital partners. I always knew that I was going to be a very successful person and I didn’t want to be the kind of successful man that didn’t have a good home.

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